Gov. Jim Douglas Elected 2006 CSG President

Vermont Governor Assumes Office January 1

Gov. Jim Douglas of Vermont this week was elected as 2006 President of The Council of State Governments, a national nonprofit organization representing all 50 states.

Douglas will assume his new office January 1, succeeding Gov. Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware.

The election by the CSG executive committee and governing board took place on the closing day of CSG's 2005 Annual Trends and Leadership Forum in Wilmington, Delaware. State officials from forty-nine states attended the meeting.

CSG is the only national organization of state officials representing all three branches of government.

During the meeting Douglas announced the President's initiative for 2006, "Spanning the Spectrum of Healthy Living: Childhood to Adulthood".

"To better meet the need of an aging population it is critical that we begin addressing the challenges associated with aging in a more comprehensive way," Douglas said when he addressed the national conference.

The issue is important to Vermont, Douglas said, because his state has the second oldest population in the nation.

"But we are not the only state that is affected by an increasing average age," he said.
Among the CSG projects planned for 2006 to address the new president's initiative are:

• National forums and Web conferences targeted to children and older adults to provide an opportunity for policymakers from across the nation to learn about effective programs already in practice.
• Special plenary sessions at CSG's two national meetings in 2006 to address potential state responses to promote healthy living for adults and children.
• A nationally circulated toolkit with critical information on state roles in childhood nutrition and physical activities.
• A focus on Aging in America as a priority, cross-cutting issue in CSG's biannual publication, Trends in America.

Douglas has been serving the people of Vermont for 30 years. Elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 1972-the same year he graduated from Middlebury College he became assistant majority leader in his second term and majority leader in his third term at the age of 25. Governor Douglas retired from the state legislature in 1979 to become a top aide to Governor Richard Snelling. In 1980, he was elected Secretary of State, a post he held until 1992-winning reelection five times and receiving the nomination of both parties on three occasions.

Douglas was elected State Treasurer in 1994, receiving the nomination of both parties and winning with 94 percent of the vote. He served as Treasurer until he was elected Governor in 2002.

Governor Douglas has been a member of the Middlebury Republican Town Committee for 30 years.

Over the course of his career, Governor Douglas has received more votes than any other person in Vermont history.

His counterparts elected Governor Douglas as President of the National Association of Secretaries of State and as president of the National Association of State Treasurers, both CSG affiliates.

The First Lady of Vermont is Dorothy Foster Douglas. The Governor and Mrs. Douglas have two grown sons, Matthew and Andrew.

Joining Governor Douglas as national CSG officers in 2006 will be Chair Earl Ray Tomblin, president of the West Virginia Senate; President-elect Brad Henry, governor of Oklahoma; Chair-elect Roger Roy, state representative in Delaware, and Vice-Chair Kim Koppleman, state representative in North Dakota.

For more information on CSG visit our Web site.

For more information on Gov. Douglas, visit his Web site at www.vermont.gov/governor/.

The Council of State Governments is the premier multibranch organization forecasting policy trends for the community of states, commonwealths and territories on a national and regional basis. CSG alerts state elected and appointed officials in all three branches of government to emerging social, economic, and political trends; offers innovative state policy responses to rapidly changing conditions; and advocates multistate problem-solving to maximize resources and competitiveness. CSG promotes excellence in decision-making and leadership skills and champions state sovereignty.

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The Council of State Governments is the nation's only organization serving every elected and appointed official in all three branches of every state government. CSG has championed excellence in state government since 1933 by advocating multi-state shared problem solving and states' rights, by tracking national conditions, trends, and innovations, and through nonpartisan, groundbreaking leadership training and support.